Not much posting going on, I know. It's boring not to see any updates, this I also know. But guess what? By November I'll be back training and you'll be able to read about all my sore muscles (just saying anything about my "muscles" makes me laugh) for the next 10 months.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

On September 24, Yvette's flight arrived on time and I was there to pick her up from the airport. I took Yvette for a walk along the canal to help keep her awake until dinner time (where I did not point out the Atwater Market.) For dinner I served a homemade macaroni & cheese with warmed apple crisp for dessert. Yvette managed to stay up until after 9pm so I let her go to bed after that.

Friday morning we got up early and drove to Mount-Royal to see the sunrise. It was positively frigid. It was also pretty cloudy so we didn't see much at all of the sunrise. Kind of a let down but still fun to say we did it. After a quick breakfast at home and some much needed coffee, we picked up the last provisions for the weekend. Anna & Lynn showed up mid-afternoon and we made our way through all the weekend traffic to head up north.

The girls all loved the cottage! It's a great place. A bit on the rustic side but still very comfortable and really had everything we to keep us happy. We sat down for a snack and a drink before settling in, and then had a delicious Thai dinner - fresh rice paper rolls, a red shrimp curry and a green fish curry, with basmati rice and three kinds of shrimp chips. Lynn broke out a special bottle of red wine, call Friends, bottled in 2003, the last time the four of us got together. I have no idea how late we stayed up talking but one thing I do know is that we laughed and laughed and laughed.

Saturday morning Yvette and I were both up pretty early so decided to head down to the beach for a little look-see. It had rained in the night and that morning the place was thick with fog. I have never seen fog like that before. It was really cool. We both took a bunch of pictures of the lake, beach and swamp. The fog gave a great mysterious feel to everything. Back up at the cottage, I made sure we all had breakfast and got us on the road to Mont-Tremblant by mid-morning. By this time the fog had been burned off by the sun and it turned into a beautiful sunny day. We found the spa with no trouble and then continued along the scenic route into the ski station part of Tremblant for a look around the shops and then a gorgeous lunch on a terrasse.

After lunch we headed to the spa and spent the afternoon being pampered. What's not to like about that?! The spa is surrounded by woods and with all the leaves changing colour on the trees, it was really quite incredible to be outside in a steaming jacuzzi and then plunge ourselves into 13C water! We did the hot, cold and relax sessions a couple of times before heading to our massages.

I can't say for the others but I have a fair idea that all of us were disappointed ... that the massages weren't any longer! If that wasn't the best massage of my life, it was the second best. And after that we headed back to the baths for more. Hot, cold, relax.

During one of our relaxation sessions we were in a room with these zero-gravity lounge chairs. Lynn melted into hers and I did the same. Yvette sat down and then proceeded to turn purple trying to get her chair to lean backwards. Well, if you know anything about the four of us, especially when we get together, it generally means that laughter is never far off. This was one of those times. You know how it is, the more you try not to laugh in a "complete silence" atmosphere, the more you do laugh. That is of course what happened to us. We were crying with the effort of trying not to laugh, shaking so much it must've looked like we were having fits of some kind. We did manage finally to control ourselves. Until Anna came in and went and did the exact same thing Yvette had done not 5 minutes before. Well ... more silent laughing, more tears and more convulsions. I'm still amazed we didn't get thrown out of the place for disturbing the tranquil atmosphere.

When we decided we'd had enough, we showered and headed into St-Jovite for dinner. We found a great little Italian restaurant that looked quite expensive but was very reasonable. We each had a great pizza and Lynn and I indulged in a little creme brulee for dessert while Anna and Yvette shared a chocolate parfait.

A short drive back to the cottage and we were home again. I got out of the car first to open the door and turn on the outside lights so the others could see where they were going. But when I got the back of the van I pretended that something got me and screamed and ducked down. Yvette screamed bloody murder and then slammed the side door shut. I nearly wet myself laughing. Lynn had a good giggle too. Anna stayed safely where she was in the van and didn't move. She still maintains that she really did "hear something out there." Safely in the cottage, after relaxing for a bit, Lynn and I decided to stretch our legs and go for a little stroll. I took her down to the beach and this time you could see a few lights across the lake and around at nearby cottages. It was very picturesque.

We ended the night playing bits of various games, listening to 80s tunes and laughed some more. The entire day could not have been more perfect.

Sunday morning after brunch, all four of us headed down to the beach in the hopes that we'd actually be able to see the other side. Luck was mostly with us! Most of the fog had gone and we actually had a pretty good view of all the amazing colours surrounding us. I had my small tripod with me so we were even able to take a great picture of the four us.

After cleaning up at the cottage and a quick snack, we headed back to Montreal for dinner at my parents house. The four of us, plus Anna's husband James, came and we had a great roast beast dinner and great conversation. What an end to the weekend!

Monday Lynn, Yvette and I headed out to drive by our old houses (44th Avenue, 52nd Avenue and Claude Avenue) and then met up with one of Yvette's flickr friends at Chow's in Dorval for a Chinese lunch. After that we drove out to Fairview to smell the fountain (for Yvette) and do some shopping. We all managed to do very well. As Anna & James were celebrating the Jewish New Year at Jamie's parents, Lynn came over to my place for dinner and a movie. She brought St-Elmo's Fire and we had nachos. A fun and relaxing end to the day.

Tuesday Anna had to work in afternoon but we were able to shop all together at Simon's in the morning. For lunch I took Lynn and Yvette to my favourite downtown pizza place, Il Focolaio, at Philips Square. We all ate our entire pizzas and the shopped for the rest of the afternoon. It was a horrible rainy day and on our walk home from the metro to my house, we actually had to duck into the pharmacy just to take refuge until the downpour stopped a little.

Anna & James joined us for a pasta dinner and I served Yvette her much requested chocolate cheesecake. The evening ended on a sad note as that was our goodbye to Lynn (and our last group photo.) She would head back to Toronto and her family on Wednesday. I'm so glad she came for the long weekend. It was a long drive for her on her own and especially all that time away from her young family. (Thanks Gus, for letting her come to us!)

On Wednesday Yvette and I explored Old Montreal in the morning, had lunch in China Town and then strolled through China Town. On our way home we stopped at the Atwater Market to pick up some fish for dinner as Yvette's brother was coming over. We enjoyed a few hours with him and started to make some progress getting through all the food in my fridge!

Thursday I rented the community car and took Yvette out to Ikea and then to the Kirkland outlets. Now that I wasn't specifically looking to buy anything, I managed to come home with a beautiful new table lamp and paid for a new bedside table (which I picked up today). We headed home early in the afternoon so we could have time for a little rest before meeting up with nearly a dozen of our old high school friends that evening.

God, what a laugh. Almost everyone who said they'd come did so I would say we had a good turn out. What I found most amazing was that although during high school we were all in different groups or cliques, that night none of that mattered any more and we were all able to sit at one big table and talk and laugh with each other. It truly was fun. I had kind of been dreading the night but I really did have a good time and am very glad I went.

Friday morning I went to a funeral (RIP Auntie Bette), while Yvette and Anna went out for brunch. I joined them later for lunch and we spent the afternoon walking along the lakeshore in Lachine. For Yvette's last night we went to the Botanical Garden's to visit the Chinese Lantern Festival. Think that's my third year in a row now. It was great! Yvette loved all the different lanterns. It wasn't too terribly crowded and although cold, for once I was dressed warmly enough.

Saturday morning Yvette said goodbye and went to visit her old friend Lisa before heading to the airport. As always a sad goodbye for us. She is truly my best friend in the world. I can't believe how we always just pick up from our emails and chats and continue as if we last saw each other yesterday.

It was a great week. I got to do a lot of things I never get the chance to do: shop without a deadline, stroll through Old Montreal and China Town, have friends over for dinner every night.

It's all over now but we all have great memories and great pictures. Now to start planning for our 50th birthdays ...